UCLA ob-gyn named finalist for MCG presidency

Dr. Ricardo Azziz, professor and vice chairman of UCLA’s department of obstetrics and gynecology, today was named the finalist to succeed Dan Rahn as president of the Medical College of Georgia.

Rahn left in October to become chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.

Azziz will take over when Augusta-based MCG works to expand its medical and dental schools and open a medical-school campus in Athens in conjunction with the University of Georgia.

Azziz has served as professor and chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology and director of the Center for Androgen-Related Research and Discovery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles since 2002.

He has served as professor and vice chairman of the UCLA department of obstetrics and gynecology and professor of medicine in the David Geffen School of Medicine since 2002.

A native of Uruguay, Azziz received a bachelor of science degree in biology/pre-med from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez and a medical degree from Penn State. He interned and was a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

He also holds master’s degrees in public health and business administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The University System Board of Regents expects to appoint the MCG president at a future meeting.